Spare Change
by serenphoria
Summary: Collection of shorts. Insights, projections, snapshots, theories, etc. #23: Jiraiya - Being ridiculously awesome comes at a cost.
1. Iruka: Marked

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**Marked**

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Iruka could run along the top of a picket fence barefoot and drink a gallon of milk in a minute. He once snuck into Crazy Kyou-san's house, stole a katana wrapped in the old man's boxers and replaced it the next day without a hitch. He'd be late to class rescuing forest critters in need. Iruka told a lot of lies when he was younger. And they always called his bluffs.

But no one ever teased Iruka when he said the angry mark across his nose was from the Kyuubi.

He smiles at his reflection years later.

It's too late now to tell them it's a birthmark.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 12.1.2006_


	2. Kiba: Confidence

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**Confidence**

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If she hadn't been assigned to his team, he never would have even noticed her. But she was, and he's noticed her ever since, though she never tries to draw attention to herself.

He just grins and encourages her on. He knew she just needed to be a little more confident. The team could wait; he was confident enough for the both of them.

That was years ago. Kiba looked at Hinata now, glowing and strong. Her pale eyes didn't falter even when they made eye contact. Kiba was the one who looked away as he fiddled nervously with the ring in his pocket.

He could sure use a little confidence now.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 9.13.2006_


	3. Neji: Phobia

_Note: Post Part I_**  
**

* * *

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**Phobia**

**.**

"Alright! Let's investigate this abandoned cabin. Gai-sensei is counting on us to return with the stolen scroll!"

"No, one of us should stay outside and stand guard. And since my eyes are most suited for the job, I'll do it."

"Ah, good thinking. You are truly a worthy rival!"

Neji imperceptibly sighed in relief as Lee bounded too enthusiastically into the dark cabin. His keen, pale eyes watched several spiders skitter across the dusty floor through the open doorway.

He flinched.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 9.6.2006_


	4. Sasuke: Snake Skin

_Note: Post Part I_

* * *

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**Snake Skin**

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Sasuke hated looking at that man.

His dark, greasy hair. The pallid skin that belied a sickness within. That ridiculous Sound tunic with the big, gravity defying bow.

But he hated those empty eyes the most.

He looked into the eyes of a traitor...

And smashed the mirror.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 10.4.2006_


	5. Sakura: Dream Job

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**Dream Job**

.

Her success as a shinobi exceeded her wildest dreams. Not only was she taken in by Godaime to became Konoha's finest medic-nin, she was recognized as the greatest young shinobi in Fire Country. She had power, respect, and responsibilities she wouldn't trust anyone else with.

Yet, as Sakura looked into the eyes of a comrade who didn't recognize her anymore, she couldn't help but think that everything had gone horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

_God it hurt._

Rokudaime Haruno shut her eyes and signed the papers authorizing the execution of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 10.11.2006_


	6. Genma: Substitute

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**Substitute**

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Genma sat bored in the jounin's lounge, arms and head resting on the low back of the couch. He watched the ceiling fan spin lazily in the stuffy, stale air.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

He looked up across the room at Asuma, tapping a cigarette out of its box. Genma rolled his tongue unconsciously over his senbon as his kouhai caught his eye and offered up the box.

"Smoke?"

Genma was slow to respond. Must be the heat.

"Are you kidding? Do you know how hard it was to quit?"

Asuma shrugged. "Fair enough," he responded, trails of smoke dancing seductively around his head.

The senbon bobbed, needy and comforting, from Genma's lips.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 12.1.2006_


	7. Shika & Chou: Logic

_Note: little!Shikamaru and little!Chouji_

* * *

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**Logic**

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"Leave me alone, porky!"

Shikamaru heard it down the street. _Man, girls are loud._ Then he spotted his new cloud-watching partner poking dejectedly at his pudgy middle.

"Maybe I was named after a butterfly as a joke," Chouji said without looking up.

Shikamaru meandered up with a thoughtful look on his face, his lips pinched and slightly askance.

"Well, if you think about it, what's a baby butterfly?"

Chouji thought, then frowned. "An ugly bug," he answered miserably.

"They're called caterpillars, you know."

"Yeah, so?"

"Sooo, they don't grow up so bad, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

The young Nara tilted his head wondering how the kid could argue with his logic.

"...I really like eating!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "So do caterpillars."

Chouji's eyes brightened.

"Gosh, you're smart, Shikamaru!" he said with a smile.

Shikamaru paused, slightly surprised.

And then made the effort to smile back.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 12.12.2006_


	8. Neji: Reality Check

_Spoilers for end of Part I_

* * *

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**Reality Check**

.

Shikamaru and Temari were the first to reach Neji after his fight with Kidomaru. They did not find a scene of bittersweet serenity.

Instead, they found Neji face down, using his bodyweight to press his palms against the gaping wounds below his clavicle and torso. His body shivered convulsively in shock and his heart raced so fast Shikamaru was afraid Neji's heart would burst before help arrived. Fumbling in panic, Shikamaru launched an exploding tag in the air to signal their position as Temari bound the worst of Neji's wounds with her cloth belt. A feather lay by the wayside, mangled.

Neji had been conscious the whole time.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 1.14.2007_


	9. Tobi: Lost and Found

_Spoilerish for Part II, after the first major arc_**  
**

* * *

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**Lost and Found**

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Tobi had heard about Kakashi the Copy Ninja. Deidara-senpai (who he often caught scratching at his stitches) told him. Watch out for that damned, red Sharingan (yeah), he said. Tobi was prepared to be cautious. Hell, he wasn't too big to admit that he was prepared to be scared. But when he finally saw it, menacing and mismatched, he had another feeling entirely that he couldn't quite explain.

Tobi knew he didn't just want the Sharingan.

He wanted it _back_.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 1.18.2007 (Pre-Madara)_


	10. Kabuto: Puppet Master

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**Puppet Master**

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Orochimaru worships power as Divine.

Power is control. For power begets fear and fear begets loyalty.

Power is Real. Truth. Not at all like the empty, foolish values touted by his home country.

He has it.

He is God.

He looks down into the training chamber at his adopted children, pawns readily and willingly sacrificed at his whim.

And he watches Kabuto: useful, talented to a fault. Even that boy is at his beck and call.

Kabuto feels the tingle of being watched and looks over to that unmistakable smirk of oblivious satisfaction. He smiles back.

Just another measured tug at invisible strings.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 3.6.2007 (Pre-Hebi arc)_


	11. Sand Siblings: Gift Giving

_Gaara Spoilers_

* * *

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**Gift Giving**

_._

_(one. two. buckle my shoe.)_

For Gaara's first birthday, Temari and Kankuro sent him a teddy bear. They didn't actually meet until years later, and by then, they'd all forgotten, but Gaara had kept the bear near, regardless.

When the elder siblings finally met their little brother, he gave them the creeps, but they agreed to work with him anyway.

-'-

_(three. four. shut the door.)_

Every time Gaara uses the Desert Coffin technique without flinching, he gives Temari a reason to hate their father, and Kankuro, politics.

And every time Shukaku appears, Gaara gives them the scare of their lives.

-'-

_(five. six. pick up sticks.)_

But when Gaara tried to apologize during their retreat from Konoha, he gave them a different reason to be scared.

And a reason to hope.

-'-

_(seven. eight. lay them straight.)  
_

When Gaara woke up in the hospital, Kankuro was there to give him a shaky smile and Temari to give his hand a squeeze.

The fact that they were there at all gave Gaara something to think about.

-'-

_(nine. ten. begin again.)_

The night before Gaara was made Kazekage, Temari and Kankuro gave him their full support._  
_

The next day, Gaara sent them his teddy bear.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 5.22.2007_


	12. Hinata: Exception

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**Exception **

.

The Hyuuga produced as skilled a politician as they do shinobi. Hinata was neither.

There was a lot of debate behind closed doors and simmering tempers about what to do. In the end, it was an unprecedented decision, but a necessary one (_to help her overcome her shyness_, they said aloud): Hinata was the first and only child of the main house to go to public school.

Hinata was glad to be given another chance.

And if it proved convenient that her genin team could adopt her when the Hyuuga stripped her of her status as heir, well, as far as Hinata knew, that was just coincidence.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 11.20.2007_


	13. Kakashi: Pride

_Spoilers for Gaiden_

* * *

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**Pride**

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Kakashi wears a mask and he blames it on his father.

Little white fang, they called him. Little Hatake. That traitor's son.

He had been so ashamed.

And even though his mask didn't hide his identity from anyone, he could pretend.

He's grown up (a bit) since then (_Obito, of all people, teaching him to grow up_); learned to leave that all behind; learned to respect his father again.

Still, he cringes at his naked face in the mirror and hastily tugs on the mask.

He doesn't hate his father anymore.

But gods he hated that tan line.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 1.2.2008_


	14. Teuchi: Power

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**Power  
**

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Teuchi is a simple man.

He and his daughter immigrated to Konoha several years after the Kyuubi's attack. It was a good time to start a new life: the village brimmed with energy, renewed under the steady guidance of the Third and in the hope the Fourth bought with his life.

He remembers setting up his humble ramen shop, perfecting his dishes, and chatting with his guests. And he remembers a little boy with angry blue eyes and an expression hungry beyond the physical but twisted in his little gut nonetheless.

Teuchi may be a simple man, but he knows something about addressing hunger.

He remembers those hard eyes racing through a million emotions and settling on watery gratitude when he offered that boy a bowl of cha-siu ramen. It cost him a few coins at best, but what he gained was his most devoted customer. He never asked how or why; he just counts his blessings and continues to offer friendly smiles and freebies every now and then. A simple matter of good customer service.

Teuchi has no idea he has the loyalty of a boy who would do anything for him. Of a jinchuuriki. He has no idea he holds influence over the most powerful demon in the world.

He's just a simple man, after all.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 3.4.2008_


	15. Sai: Phantom

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**Phantom**

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Sai knew intellectually that that boy wasn't him, but it didn't stop his heart from skipping a beat.

It wasn't just the mop of droopy grey hair, his slight build, or his penchant for over-sized weapons. It was the confidence in his casual stance and a recklessness in the gleam of his eyes. Something about the way that guy spoke with his teammates and looked people in the eyes told him he had the same streak of rebelliousness, stubbornness, and loyalty that he recognized in Naruto. But his smile was sharp and full of joyful malice.

And yet for a moment Sai wasn't sure if he didn't want that guy to be his brother, and he really was standing, _just there_, if but a perverted reflection of his former self.

Sai doesn't know that he dreams. But he does. And in them they would meet and embrace and celebrate their reunion.

"Hey," Suigetsu calls out, "We gonna fight or what?"

Sai contorts his face into that smile he's practiced.

"If we must."

-'-

* * *

_Posted 6.7.2008_


	16. Gaara: Trade

_Gaara and Chiyo spoilers_

* * *

.

**Trade**

.

Chiyo was a puppet master. Gaara is acutely aware of that.

Gaara sometimes wishes Chiyo never brought him back. She built him wrong and then fixed him wrong. He had fought a life-long war with the demon, agreed tenuously to a life-long pact, lived out a fucked-up symbiotic relationship, and died honoring it.

Only he didn't.

Gaara doesn't remember ever feeling so vulnerable, or like such a stranger in his own skin.

_Isn't it nice_, Kankurou said,_ you're free now._

All Gaara can feel is a hollow in his chest and the rushing adrenaline keeping his inexperienced instincts on high alert.

Freedom, perhaps, is another word for fear?

Gaara stands in front of Chiyo's grave (she was a puppet master, but no expert in human beings), leaves her a flower anyway...

And hopes one day he'll mean it.

-'-

* * *

_posted 9.11.2008_

**A/N:** If you're taking the time to favorite/alert, can you please leave a message too? Feedback is nice :)


	17. Kakashi: Motivation

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**Motivation**

.

Konohagakure is a culture of shadows, dependent on stealth and built on secrets. Mastery of the seeing beneath the beneath is the difference between being the victor and being dead. Thus, young shinobi gather to compare notes and hone their analytical skills.

In other words, they gossiped.

Today's hapless specimen is one Hatake Kakashi. Topic of choice: the little orange book.

No other ninja in recent history is quite as curious as Kakashi: the mask, the eye, the state of his sanity. And then there's his singular past as the son of the legendary White Fang, the student of the great Yondaime, the tenacious young ANBU, the infamous Sharingan wielding Copy Nin.

Sakura sipped her smoothie. "He's just so awkward. I bet it's a reaction to his inability to engage with women in a healthy way," she offered diagnostically.

"You are wrong," Lee interjected, his fervor unintentionally eclipsing his need to defer to his crush. "Hatake-san no doubt uses the book as a feint. He is actually acutely aware of his surroundings and uses the book to trick the opponent into thinking he is distracted. As to be expected of Gai-sensei's eternal rival!" Lee declared, fist in hand, fire in his eyes.

"Or he's hiding the pain of a pure and tragic love in his past," Ino murmured dreamily, ignoring the boy entirely.

But maybe it was Naruto, who couldn't read underneath the underneath to save his life, who was able to see it at face value:

"Really? I just figured he liked porn."

Naruto woke up bruised on the ground to the friendly chit-chattering of his comrades.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 10.11.2008_


	18. Konoha: Purpose

_Recent Manga Spoilers._

* * *

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**Purpose**

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He's seen it from all angles, but from this vantage point, Konoha really was quite beautiful. A labyrinth of streets and alleys with people scurrying about like ants in their farm. Smoke dancing from the colored rooftops. There was a special satisfaction knowing that the Hokages below his feet could see it all too and thought fleetingly that that blond brat would have been so jealous.

With steady hands, Pain aimed.

_Bang._

-'-_  
_

* * *

_posted 12.26.2008_


	19. Kiba: Tradition

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**Tradition**

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The Inuzuka are a proud clan.

_"Kiiiiiba! Your stupid dog pissed all over my jacket!"_

With a proud family tradition.

_"That's what you get for leaving your shit everywhere, Hana!"_

But sometimes, they're just a family.

_"__You owe me, big! Gods, you can track a moving target with that runt's stench."_

And while they pride themselves on ninken techniques passed down from generation to generation...

_"Kiba? What's with the creepy thinking face?"_

Not all techniques have a long history and an honorable origin.

_"Huh? Nuthin'. Sis, I do owe you. C'mon Akamaru, we're going training!"_

But they won't tell if you can't.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 3.22.2009_


	20. Shikamaru: Taint

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**Taint**

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Shikamaru watches clouds.

The lazy drift, the phantom shapes, a bit of peace in a noisy world. They sweep away responsibility and ugliness and he dreams.

.

He's watching again.

This one twists and dances and chokes the air in his lungs. He hears it whisper and his eyes are narrow and red.

The smoke from the cigarette in his mouth twists into clouds, but he doesn't dream anymore.

-'-

* * *

_Posted 9.18.2010. References to the battle with Hidan._


	21. Gaara: Sand

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**Sand**

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To an outsider, the change in Subaku no Gaara was nothing short of miraculous and even more abrupt:

Before Konoha.

After Konoha.

His siblings knew different. Canyons aren't carved in a day, nor are humans from monsters made. Each day a step forward, sometimes a few back, sometimes on tiptoes and others in tandem.

They could feel it: small changes, like water on rock.

And from the rock, Sand.

-'-

* * *

_A/N: Yes, another Gaara piece. Because Gaara earned his awesomeness._

_Posted 3.17.2011_


	22. Tsunade: Heirloom

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**Heirloom**

.

Sometimes, Shizune doesn't know why she even bothers.

"Gwaaah!"

Tsunade let out a frustrated yell and Shizune ducked just in time to avoid being brained with a scroll. Tonton fell from her arms and snorted an indignant _'boui.'_

_My thoughts exactly_. "Tsunade-sama, you need to be more careful with those things."

The Hokage's disheveled head poked up from the piles of books, papers, and important-looking knickknacks strewn all over the office floor. Her eyes smoldered and twisted her face into an agitated sneer.

"Where IS it?" The blond nosed-dived into the shelves again. Shizune would have sighed in exasperation if it wasn't for the jade figurine flying point-blank at her nose. "Gah!" She closed her eyes and ducked, catching the figurine miraculously in her outstretched hands. "Tsunade-sama!"

"It shouldn't be this hard to find!" Tsunade continued on her tirade. "Where did the old man hide it? _Ouch!_" The venerable Hokage cursed at the book that fell on her head. "My job would be so much easier if Sensei had the _decency _to leave it out in the open or something!"

General chaos ensued in Hokage Tower as Tsunade continued to plunder and curse, Shizune danced and dodged, and Tonton _'boui'_ed into the din...

...Elsewhere in the village, Sarutobi Asuma smirked looking down into the crystal ball.

_Sorry_ _Hokage-sama, family heirloom._

-'-

* * *

**A/N**: Remember the all-seeing crystal ball the Third had at the beginning of the series? What ever happened to that?

_First posted 10.14.2006. Moved to this collection because it seemed more appropriate. 12.30.2011._


	23. Jiraiya: Expectations

.

**Expectations**

.

Fukusaku couldn't help but smile at his protege.

"Did I do it? Did I do it? Oh man...I did it! I did it!"

"Yes, yes," the frog master said dismissively. No point fueling the boy's already inflated ego. "You did well. Don't get too cocky."

"Are you kidding me?" the boy exclaimed and whooped enthusiastically as he did a victory dance. "This feels incredible! I can actually feel the energy of everything around me. I. Am. So. Awesome!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Fukusaku said, hopping in circles to call out to his student, who was now turning cartwheels around him. "The jutsu is still incomplete!"

"I am a freakin' frog MASTAH! Prince Crazy Awesome of the Sennin. Commander of the Elements. Prodigy of the Leaf. The Greatest of the Sannin, Jiraiya!" Jiraiya posed theatrically with each title. "The ladies are going to be all over me!" Jiraiya's eyes glazed over as he fantasized, a hint of drool glinting off his mouth.

Fukusaku couldn't contain his mirth and busted out in a croaking laughter.

"What?"

"I know _my _good looks works for the Missus, but I'm not sure if you're going to be getting the kind of attention you want in Sage Mode."

Sobered up, Jiraiya cocked a cautious brow at his master.

"Whaddaya mean, old man?"

Wiping tears from his eyes, Fukusaku pointed at the pool in the middle of their training glade. Jiraiya approached distrustfully, one eye on his mentor, and peered into the pool at his reflection.

Oh.

Oh, _hell _no.

-'-

* * *

_A/N: Sage mode is so not flattering. Oh Jiraiya. :)_

_Posted 12.30.2011_


End file.
